Lost
by neko-chibi-faithkitty
Summary: When a tragic accident takes away the heir of Shin Makoku, how far will they go to get him back? Set durring the reign of Kiril for Valdemar and Yuri for Kyo Kara Maoh. Rated for possible future situations.
1. Prologue

**AN: **First of all, I own neither Kyo Kara Maoh nor Valdemar. They both belong to the respective geniuses that created them. Secondly, this story has been bubbling in the back of my brain for a while and I figured it was time to let it see the light of day. It will be slow going because quite frankly I have no idea where I'm going with it, I just hope that it takes me somewhere wonderful. I hope you guys enjoy it! ~Neko-chibi

Lost

Prologue

Yuri Shibuya watched as his adopted daughter carefully instructed the palace maids which things to pack. At nearly thirty-two he could have easily passed for her younger brother instead of her father. _She's getting old_. He thought sadly to himself as she organized the three maids. _In ten years people will think she's my mother instead of my sister._

"Silver for your thoughts, Love?" A familiar voice whispered in his ear. He turned to look at the blonde who had spoken. At 102 his full demon consort looked barely a year older than Yuri's own appearance of nineteen.

"Greta's human." The double black said as he waved for the blonde to follow him away from the room where the young woman could overhear them.

Wolfram frowned at him. "You knew that when you adopted her." He said softly.

The Maoh of the Demon Tribe shook his head with obvious melancholy. "I was fifteen when adopted Greta. I wasn't thinking that she was human; that she would age like a human. She's grown." He sighed. "She's a wife with a husband and a child. It isn't fair."

"She loves her life." The prince consort protested.

"But it isn't fair." The black haired ruler shook his head. "It's not fair that Linfred will bury her while he's still young, or that little Arvin will outlive his own mother by at least 200 years."

"Stop." Wolfram said holding up his hand. "Is this about Greta, or Jennifer?"

Yuri looked at the blonde who had come to know him so well. "Mom's turning fifty-seven next week." He said softly. "Last time I visited someone asked if I was her grandson."

"Oh." He was quiet for several moments. "Yuri, I can't change how time flows. No one can, not even you."

Before he could respond one of the maids from Greta's room came running, calling for them. "Oh, Majesty! Come quickly!" She crowed. "It's Lord Arvin! Hurry!"

Both men exploded into motion, running back the way they had come. At the two stumbled to a halt outside of their daughter's room they found her dancing around the room with the infant in her arms. "He spoke!" She exalted when she caught sight of them at her door. "He said 'Yuri', Papa!"

"What?" The dark king blinked.

"He said your name!" She laughed, moving to hug him. "Arvin's first word was 'Yuri'!"

"Oo-ee!" The baby burbled pointing to his grandfather with one chubby arm.

Yuri held out his arms for the child, his face beaming like Christmas. "Arvin, that's right. Yuri." He laughed.

Greta smiled wryly, looking at her parents. "Let's hope no one tells Linfred. He's trying to get Arvin to say 'Papa' for months."

Yuri laughed as the child babbled his name again. "I'm glad he said it before you left." He said making silly faces for the infant's benefit. "Imagine if he'd said it while the three of you were in Cavalcade! "

"Both kingdoms would have ceased to function until Yuri made it to Cavalcade." Wolfram teased his mate, glad that his dour mood had disappeared in the face of their grandson.

"Let's just hope he says 'Papa' next." Greta laughed joyfully.

* * *

><p>The next day saw Greta and her small family aboard the Silver Lady, a ship reserved for the Demon's Maoh and his immediate family. The great ship had been a gift for the tribe from Greta's friends in Cavalcade, her black outline colored only by her great silver sails. She was the most recognizable ship on the ocean, making her one of the safest, for everyone knew that to attack the Maoh would bring no less than four kingdoms warring after you.<p>

The Maoh, his consort, and his court all watched as the small family departed taking the heir to the throne for his first visit to their allies. It was a happy send off without a single mishap, a promising start to the long trip…

Three weeks after the departure, Yuri sat in his office carefully going over trade agreements with one of their less than willing allies when a soft knock interrupted his concentration. "Come in." He said, looking up as he set the document aside.

The tall pale man who entered kept his head down, carefully closing the door behind him with a soft 'snick'. For several heartbeats he stood with his back to his king, his shoulders bowed as he hunched in on himself.

"Günter?" Yuri frowned. The man was proud, rarely bowing in on himself like this. "Günter, what's wrong?"

"We've received word from Cimeron." The mas said heavily. "The Silver Lady has gone down."

"What? How?" The Maoh exhaled, his face draining of color. "How?"

"Lady Beatrice started looking when the ship didn't arrive on schedule. Cimeron confessed to finding the wreckage. They thought you were on board." The tall demon choked. "They claim the ship was attacked by pirates… they haven't found any survivors yet."

"Have they found... _their_ bodies yet?" Yuri asked dreading the answer.

Günter shook his head fighting his emotions. "Linfred, Greta, and Arvin were thrown overboard in the attack." He whispered. "The pirates confessed to killing them." Yuri collapsed back into his chair. "I'm sorry, Majesty. Gwendal has informed Lady Ulrikё to search for Linfred and Arvin's souls. I wish… Greta was human, sire. I wish we could retrieve her soul for you as well…"

"Yes." The king muttered. "Has Wolfram been told yet?"

"Not yet, Sire." Günter shook his head. "We knew you would want to be the first to know."

"Thank you." He said apathetically. "Could you send for him? I… We need to be alone."

"Yes, Sire." Günter nodded.

"Günter." Yuri called softly as his old friend moved to leave. "I'm sorry. Linfred was your nephew… if you need anything just ask."

"Thank you, Majesty." The tall man smiled sadly.

"And tell Conrart I was those pirates brought to Blood Pledge for judgment." Günter nodded again, then departed.

* * *

><p>A world away, the heir to the throne of the great Shin Makoku cried at his empty stomach. "Shut the brat up!" The large man who had bought him snarled, punctuating his words with a strike to the kitchen drudge saddled with the infant.<p>

The scrawny girl winced as the blow landed. Cooing to the baby she held her grime covered hands over his mouth. "Quiet Oohee." She shushed as gently as she knew too. "Ye gotter be quiet." The child's cries grew louder as though he knew hers would be the last kind voice he heard for a long time.

Not a month later the drudge was dead, taking with her the final kindness left in the infant prince's world.


	2. Chapter One

**AN:** Hello again. Okay, it seems it's going to be maybe one or two more chapters before they get to Valdemar, but they will get there, I promise. Again, I own nothing. Also, since this is the first crossover of this kind, let me know what you guys think. I'd like to think everything I write is genious, but my muse tells me not all of it is feasable. Just give me a heads up if this is too far out there.

* * *

><p>Lost<p>

Chapter One

The Maoh swallowed back his grief as he entered the Former Tomb of the Great One. Just inside its sacred walls he and his small party gathered in the courtyard amidst the solemn temple guards. One of them, an older woman with dark hair, stepped forward. "Your Majesties." She addressed him and the blonde atop the white stallion beside him. "The Lady Ulrikё has left instructions that you are to be escorted to her as soon as you arrive."

"Thank you." The dark haired king acknowledged dismounting from his own midnight steed. Without a word, Wolfram and his older brother dismounted as well. "Has she located their souls yet?"

The older demoness frowned. "I'm afraid there's been a complication. I don't know all of the details, but, well… Perhaps lady Ulrikё should explain it to all of you. She's in the inner shrine."

The three noblemen frowned, but it was the oldest one that spoke. "Thank you." Conrart said softly. "We know the way if you have other duties that need to be attended to."

She nodded at his subtle hint and motioned for the other guards to follow her out of the courtyard. "What did she mean 'complications?'?" Wolfram growled in frustrated grief.

"Only one way to find out." Yuri sighed. Having to navigate the tomb often in the past, it took little time for the King and his family to locate the sylph-like priestess.

"Your Majesty." She greeted them formally. "Your Highness, Lord Weller." Ulrikё nodded to the others.

"Have you found anything yet? The young Maoh asked abruptly.

The child-like girl frowned. "I've found Lord Linfred's soul." She said softly. "I can send someone to retrieve it whenever you like."

"And Arvin?" Wolfram asked slowly.

She shook her head. "I can't find him." She almost cried. "Even Lady Andine can't find him. It's like he's hiding from us."

Conrart frowned. "Hiding? But souls don't hide."

"No." The priestess admitted. "And Linfred's soul was not where it ought to have been." She worried nervously at her lower lip. "It's quite far away. I think, perhaps, Arvin's soul realized the danger they were in and opened a portal to try to save them."

"But Arvin would have had to have survived the attack of that's the case." Conrart whispered.

"Yes." Ulrikё nodded. "I think he is alive, somewhere. Linfred's soul is far enough away that if it is still on this world it would have to be on the far side of our world, but there's only water there. Perhaps he's on a world very near to ours."

"But there are only two souls in the world capable of opening a portal to another world." Wolf said suspiciously. "Yuri sure didn't send them to another world."

The maiden flushed. "The Great One commanded me not to tell you, but yes, he chose to be reborn into Yuri's family.

* * *

><p>Conrart and his second in command, Josak, emerged from the pool of water gasping for air and spluttering in the darkness. "Where do you think we are? The red-headed soldier asked as they paddled toward the sound of water lapping against a stony shoreline. His voice echoed in the darkness, bounding off the damp walls of a cave.<p>

The brunette waited until they had reached the earthen shore before answering. "I'd guess underground." He said with softly bitter sarcasm. "I don't suppose you have a flint on you?" He asked with a sigh.

Josak laughed. "Of course I do, Captain, but we'll have to wait for it to dry."

"Perhaps you should have let Wolfram come." Conrart teased lightly.

"Would you really want him here?" The taller man asked. "You know how he is."

"You're right." He admitted. "He's gotten a lot better thanks to his Majesty, but he still wouldn't react well to landing in a 'stagnant underground lake with Great One knows what kind of creatures lurking, waiting to swallow me whole.'" He finished with a perfect imitation of his younger brother's aristocratic inflections.

Josak's laughter filled the cave. "I can hear his cries of outrage."

"You should have heard them the first time Yuri took Greta swimming in that little fishing hole near Blood Pledge. I'm sure they heard him all the way in Caloria."

They fell silent for a moment before Josak started moving around searching for some dryer driftwood with which to make a torch. "Ah!" He yelped suddenly.

Conrart turned in the direction of his yelp. "Are you alright?"

"Fine." The red-head said darkly. "I just cut myself."

"On what?"

"A lamp I think." Josak muttered loudly. "It feels like one, and I think I found a small flint box too." A moment later a spark flared to life in the darkness revealing the brawny soldier bent over what was indeed a small lantern. "The glass shade is broken." He advised. "We'll have to be careful to keep it away from drafts."

"At least we know _someone_ has been here." Conrart grimaced.

"True." His comrade agreed. "Shall we?" He asked gesturing to what was an exit if the forgotten debris was any hint.

As they explored they found a series of caves. Forgotten belongings, wasted supplies, and other useless refuse was strewn about most of the cave system's floors, broken and buried. "It looks like a bandit hideout." Josak stated grimly. "A raided bandit's hideout."

"I agree." Came the younger man's equally grim reply. "We know Lord Linfred's body is here somewhere. Let's just hope Lady Greta had a kinder fate."

"It would have been better for her if she drown," Josak said coldly, "rather than being caught by whoever this lot was."

It took the two men quite a while before they located the simple graves in a small chamber off of the main passage. The plain markers had no names, only dates and a small line of writing in an unfamiliar language. Conrart caught his comrade's wince when he spoke. "Do you think one of these is Lord Linfred?" Josak's hushed voice queried.

"Only one way to find out." His captain frowned.

"Right." Josak nodded. "I'll see if I can't find something to use as a shovel." Nearly an hour later he returned with a bowl and what looked like a hollowed out instrument of some kind. "These are the best I could do on such short notice." He sighed handing the strange guitar-like-instrument-turned-spade to the other man and keeping the bowl for himself. "I figured the dirt is fresh enough that we can probably manage with these."

Conrart nodded. "I just hope these graves aren't more than a day or two old." He said softly. "If this is Greta and Linfred, Yuri will want them brought back for a proper funeral."

The two graves did prove to be fairly fresh, perhaps less than a week old judging by the odor of the recently exhumed corpses. Silently the brawnier man held out a lightly scented handkerchief "I thought we might need this." He said, stuffing the oil rag that had protected it back into some hidden pocket.

"Thanks." Conrart nodded. Then he frowned. "Why didn't you put your flint in that wrap?" He asked after a moment.

"I didn't think we'd need it so soon." Josak smiled.

His smile quickly faded as Conrart covered his mouth and nose with the cloth and began to pull back the coarse tarp to reveal the body within. "The body was carefully garbed in the simple yellow gown Greta had worn the fateful day the Silver Lady had set sail. Her wild curls were flaccid, and her face was empty in death, but it was unmistakably the Princess Greta.

"So I guess that makes this Lord Linfred." Josak mourned.

"Yes." The brunette agreed. "But where is little Arvin?"

"He could hardly have walked away on his own." Came his second's exasperated reply.

"Perhaps whoever buried these two took him." Conrart suggested. "It's what his Majesty would do."

"Perhaps." The red-head nodded. "What do you want to do now?"

For a few moments his captain didn't speak. Then finally he sighed. "We can't take them back like this." He frowned. "Go gather as much wood as you can find while I retrieve Linfred's soul. We'll burn the bodies and carry back the ashes. Then we can come back to look for his Highness. As long as he's still alive we can look for him."

Josak nodded and went to do as he had been asked. He'd just reached the first bend that would lead him to the main passage when Conrart's violent oath sent him sprinting back. ""What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Their amulets." The half-breed swore. "The amulets that protect their souls are gone."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> One last note, the amulet that Conrart mentions is an amulet that is made when a real Maoh is crowned. They're are only a handful made- one for each member of the imediate family only. We got to wondering why, and what if the amulets are a failsafe so that if the monarch dies and there's no priestess nearby to collect the soul, the amulet collects it and saves it until it can be retrieved... well it made sense to me considering how much effort they go to to cultivate and perfect certain souls. They don't really tell you what the amulet is in the series, only that they are only made for the Maoh and his family, and that they are impossible to duplicate, a fake amulet would be more that obvious.


	3. Chapter Two

AN: Okay , sorry this took so long, but if you check out the note at the end you'll see why. Also, YAY! we finally made it to Valdemar! Also, btw I sadly own neither Valdemar nor Kyo Kara Maoh. I know, it's tragic, isn't it. Well, I hope you all enjoy! PS. for give any typos. I did check this over twice, honest. But it's 2am and I haven't slept. I got up early today... er... yesterday... It's been a while since I've slept. :P

AN Part 2: Okay the revised and complete version of chapter two. I know, y'all thought it was done and out, but surprise! Not so much. Thank you all for being patient with me. Now, the first half of this is the same, except with a few grammatical errors corrected, but the entire last half of this is new, so do please read and enjoy!

* * *

><p>Lost<p>

Chapter Two

The ambassadors from Seejay signaled the King's Own Herald to join them in their small corner of the Great Hall. With a quick but timely jest, he left his current group of courtiers and approached the quietly whispering group. "Did you need me for something?" He asked them pleasantly.

The woman, Lady Mirius, smiled reassuringly. "Truzfully, ve are zinkink zat ve may be of help to you." She said in her thickly accented Valdemaran. "Ve haf been considerink ze problem of your false envoys."

"And what have you come up with?" He asked curiously.

"Ve vere very intrigued zat you say zey move strangely." One of the men chimed in. "You see, you are not ze first people to tell us of assassins and spies zat seem more zan human."

Nikolas stilled. ::_Rolan, is Kiril getting this?_::

::_Every word_.:: The grove born affirmed.

"If I may ask, who was the first to tell you of these 'superhuman' spies." He asked calmly.

"Ze are allies from across ze souzern seas." The lady answered. "Ve haf only been allies for a few years, but zey are tellink us of a kingdom of powerful varriors who are more zan human. Ve voundered if your imposters are comink from zere."

::_What do you think?_::

Rolan was quiet for a few minutes before he replied. ::_I think it is possible._:: He answered slowly. ::_And what's more, Kiril thinks it's possible. He wants to talk to you and the ambassadors about meeting these allies of theirs._::

"The thought does bare some looking into." Nikolas nodded. "I wonder if tomorrow morning we could meet to discuss these allies of yours with the King and council?"

"Ve vould be at your disposal." The Seejayan woman smiled. "It wound be a good zing to haf all of our allies in alliance viz each ozer as vell as wiz us."

"Well then, my lady, my lords, I shall see you all bright and early." They bowed and curtsied as the King's own departed. ::Well Rolan, it looks like we have another early morning.::

The companion sent apple flavored amusement flowing through their bond. ::You're the one who said morning. Kiril was hoping for an afternoon session.::

Nikolas sighed in exasperation. ::You could have mentioned that about five minutes ago.::

§

Nikolas and Kiril listened as the Seejayan ambassadors explained to the council about the allies that they wished to bring into Valdemar. So far, no one had raised any major objections; most of them were just hopeful that this new foreigner could shed some light on the matter of the spies who had been thwarted, for the most part, by sheer dumb luck.

"Are you sure this woman can be trusted?" Master Soren asked cautiously. "And how can we be sure that the woman who arrives in Valdemar will be the woman you send for?"

"Ze Lady Beatrice is known to us." Lady Mirius said simply. "If anozer comes ve vill tell you 'Zis is not ze voman ve are sendink for. And if ve couldn't trust her and her people, our King vould never haf signed a treaty viz her people."

"There is that." The Seneschal's Herald said wryly. "Tell us, where exactly is this Lady Beatrice from?"

"Across ze souzern sea." The man, Lord Aron, answered gruffly. "She is from ze Kingdom call Cavalcade, and her people go by ze same name. Ve can varn her not to brink any mages viz her." He added as an afterthought.

"Do you think she will be willing to come?" Sedric asked softly. "After all, Valdemar has no oceans or seas for them to cross; we haven't got any ports for their ships to sail to."

"You are a very strong ally." Lord Aron shrugged. "You haf power and untouched markets for zeir goods."

"She vill come." Lady Mirius said confidently. "Lady Beatrice is searchink for somezink' searchink desperately. She has not found it in Seejay, so, I zink she vill come here if only to know it is not here eizer."

"What is she looking for?" Nikolas asked, a frown on his lips.

The three envoys exchanged a dark look before Mirius answered. "A child. A child zat visdom says is dead, but she hopes is alive."

"Ze child and his parents vere lost at sea." Aron explained. "Ze parents bodies vere recovered, but ze child remains lost." He shrugged. "As you haf said, Valdemar is hafink no seas or oceans. She vill not be finding ze boy here, but she vill be vanting to look."

"How old is the child she's searching for?" Calen asked slowly.

"He vould be young." Mirius replied. "Not yet a man. He vas an infant ven ze ship vent down fourteen years ago. Zere is no vay he could haf survived."

::Calen wants to know if Mags could possibly be the boy she's searching for.:: Kiril's companion told him silently.

::I don't think so. Mags' parents were killed in a fight with bandits, not at sea. Still though, the situation is odd.:: He pursed his lips. ::It's an odd coincidence that yet another foreigner is looking for a boy the same age as our Mags. And you know how I feel about coindidences.::

::Rolan says that Nikolas is suggesting that perhaps Mags could earn his whites spying down in Haven while our newest guest is here. It wouldn't be a guarantee, but it would keep him out of her sight.::

::And we could tell her he's out of the palace earning his whites and it wouldn't be a lie. Is there anyone besides Nik that could go down there with him. I don't want him on his own with only Dallen available for help if these bastards slip past us again.::

:: I'll pass it through the Companions that you're looking for volunteers. After the last few years, you'll have heralds jumping all over each other to go hide in the slums with him.::

::Is Mags even up to this?" He asked his companion.

He felt the snort echo through the bond. ::After the kidnapping last month he'll be fine. You may have to tie him up to keep him from seeking out this woman. He's determined to dig up his past so it won't catch us by surprise again.::

::Is Rolan passing this on to Nik?::

:: Yes.::

::Good.:: he said, nodding to Nikolas to tell him to set the plan in motion. "Bring her." He told the Seejayans aloud. "If she knows our false envoys and these foreign spies then she can answer our questions. If not," he shrugged, "at least we get a potential ally out of this."

Sedric nodded. "At the very worst, she'll be one of them, and then we'll have one of their people under our thumb."

Master Soren nodded. "I don't think we're putting this to a vote, but if we are, my vote goes with his Majesty."

"As does mine." Dean Calen agreed. "The Heraldic Circle wants to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. If this woman will come I say bring her quickly."

Nikolas nodded his own wordless assent even as the other heralds voiced their own agreement. The king laughed grimly. "There it is." He told the visiting envoys. "These imposters have riled up our heralds and now they will have to answer for their actions."

"Ve vill send vord immediately." Lady Mirius smiled. "Ze Lady Beatrice vill be here as soon as possible."

Soon after, the council session completed as the ambassadors and guild masters filed out of the room leaving only the heralds, and strangely Master Soren. When the door closed, the guild master spoke softly. "Bringing this woman could endanger our young trainees all over again." He said pointedly. "Before this Lady Beatrice gets within a hundred leagues of our borders, perhaps it would be best if we devised a way to protect them?"

Kiril eyed Soren speculatively. "You could have spoken to the entire council."

"And offend our guests?" The old man said with a small smile. "No. Besides, these men are after Trainee Mags, and they're damned good. They've gotten into the guard, the Bards and the Healers. I'm sure you all agree, the Heralds are the one thing they could never infiltrate."

Prince Sedric nodded. "I don't think they even understand exactly what our Companions are. But don't worry Master Soren, I believe Father and Nikolas have a plan to protect Trainee Mags, and I assure you, the Companions are in on it. Mags has proven to valuable a person to let these bastards get hold of him again."

Nikolas sighed. "Not to mention Dallen would play Kirball with our heads if anything else happened to his Chosen."

§

Lady Beatrice blinked at the formal invitation to the Valdemaran court. Then she glanced back to the tall man that had given it to her. His tall, lean form was clad entirely in white, from his soft linen tunic to his thin doe skin boots. His name was Ryse - Herald Ryse of Valdemar. Slowly, she reread the invitation again, judging her reply carefully. "I'm honored, truly." She said cautiously. "But, I don't understand. Cavalcade is an ocean-bound kingdom, and your Valdemar is landlocked. How could we benefit from an alliance?"

Herald Ryse smiled easily. "So far Seejay is the only country on this side of the world that has a trade agreement with your people." He said in the lilting accent of his own kingdom. "Seejay traders drive hard bargains, and we'd rather not go through their merchants to obtain your goods." He said with a shrug. "That, and like Seejay, you'll find Valdemar to be a more friendly neighbor than Karse."

"I see." She said softly. "It is true, I've heard disturbing stories of Karsite hospitality, but I'm sure that they have chilling tales of your hospitality. Perhaps they would not be so hostile to impartial diplomats." She countered.

The tall herald shook his head. "The Karsites as a race are religious fanatics. If they do ally with you, it will be with the intent to subjugate and convert your people." He said grimly. "We won't stop you from joining with them, but fair warning, you're going to hear 'I told you so' a lot."

Beatrice nodded. "Off the record Ryse," she said, moving away from him, "why does King Kiril want me in his kingdom? This invitation is for Cavalcade, but I've been raised in politics. I can read between the lines. If I don't personally make an appearance there's no point in anyone going."

Ryse frowned. "The Seejay envoys in Valdemar have spoken very highly of you, my lady."

"That doesn't answer my question." Beatrice said sternly. "Why me?"

The Valdemaran sighed. "Someone is trying to kill our king. From what we can gather, they were caught in Karse while on an errand of their own, and hired to create an upheaval on our side of the border."

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I sympathize, truly, but I still don't see what any of this has to do with me."

"Lady Mirius is the envoy who told us that you might be able to help. The people Karse hired are, well, different."

"Different how?" Beatrice asked with amusement.

"They are stronger than any human being has a right to be." He said softly. "And the way they move is unlike anything I've ever seen or heard of. But, Lady Mirius told our heralds that you had confided in her that there are people in your homeland that move and act like our unwelcome guests."

"No one like that calls Cavalcade home." She hedged.

"But you know of people like this?" Ryse pursued. "Please, my lady. These people have already attempted murder in the palace. They have attacked our Companions, and stolen children to use for blackmail."

Beatrice didn't know much about the Valdemaran Companions, but she did know from watching the Valdemaran envoys in general, and Ryse in particular, the Companions were as dear to these people as Morgif was to her own allies. Luckily, Morgif was much harder to hurt. And to harm a child? "The Mazoku would never commit such crimes." She defended. "They are good people!"

"So you do know of a race that can do what these people have done?" He pressed.

"I don't know what your invaders can do. I only know what you've hinted at." She said firmly. "I know of a race that has different magic than humans, that are a bit stronger, but I don't know that they can compare with your 'unwelcome guests.' But I do know that your visitors can't be Mazoku! The Mazoku rarely leave their homeland, and their king would never condone the actions you've accused them of!"

Herald Ryse was still for several moments before he moved to sink into one of the lounging benches in Lady Beatrice suite. "As I see it, we have one of two problems." He said on a thick sigh. "Either we are dealing with your Mazoku and we've done something to anger them past reason, or there is a second race out there that can rival your Mazoku in strength and power. Either way, Valdemar will desire a treaty with your people. If, as you say, these people are from another race, we may need you to find out if the Mazoku can help us or tell us how to help ourselves. And, if it is as my king fears, and these are the people you told Lady Mirius about, we need you to help us come to an understanding with them. Either way, Valdemar will seek a treaty with Cavalcade."

Beatrice turned away from the herald, pacing towards the large open windows of the suite. "The Mazoku's Maoh is very dear to me." She finally replied. "I've known him since I was a young girl. In all that time, he has never shown himself to be anything less than the kind, loving, gentle man that saved me from pirates the night we met. He is powerful with a strong sense of justice and fair play. That is how I know he is not behind your recent troubles. He would never condone the harm of a child under any circumstance. He is the greatest king the Mazoku have had in more than a thousand years, and they love him dearly." She turned back to face Herald Ryse. "I will go, but only because the Maoh would be disappointed in me if he discovered that you had told me someone had endangered a child and I had not acted."

* * *

><p>Okay, Beatrice really didn't want to go to Valdemar. Yuri no problem. I've written the part where he arrives at least twenty times and each time is more awesome than the last. But little miss Beatrice- nope, not gonna happen. However, you will note that since this chapter is written and so is the next one, I won. I may have had to frog march her little butt to Valdemar, but I get her there! So, in other words I blame Beatrice that this chapter took so long. Also, again, sorry for the weird delay in posting the latter half of this. As always, let me know what you think!<p> 


	4. Chapter Three

**AN: **I'M SO SORRY!. As I told you all, I've had this chapter written for a while, and I was planning to post it a few days after I put up the last one, but alas… I lost the notebook it was written in. You see, I write all of my stories in spiral notebooks, and each story gets its own notebook, and sometimes its own set of notebooks. Needless to say, that's a lot of notebooks to go through, especially when you can't remember which one you were looking for. (I tend to try to find one the looks like it 'fits' the story that's being written inside it; it helps me remember which one is which. Unfortunately this one's notebook looks frighteningly like the notebook I used for a Labyrinth/Harry Potter x-over and every time I thought I had this one I had the other one!) Also, as a side note, I know at one point Mercedes Lackey mentions that Seejay is even more landlocked than Valdemar, but that just doesn't work for me, so I'm going to pretend not to know that little inconvenient fact and I ask you to do the same. In my world Seejay borders a Southern Sea. Anyway, I finally found it so I can finally post this chapter and work on the next one! As always, I own nothing. I hope ya'll enjoy!

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><p>Lost<p>

Chapter Three

Beatrice sighed as she sank into the warm water. It had been six long weeks of travel from the Seejayan capital to the Valdemaran city of Haven. The Valdemaran inns had been nice, some better than others, but she missed her own home, or even her 'other home' at Blood Pledge. She frowned as her mind drifted back to her last visit to the Mazoku capital. As much as she loved her Mazoku 'Uncles', she hated visiting. Shin Mazoku had become a sad place since her heart-sister's death and the loss of the heir. Fourteen years of mourning might seem extreme for their human neighbors, but for the long-lived demons, it was hardly any time at all.

A soft tap on the door woke her from her melancholy thoughts. "Yes?" She called aloud, carefully twisting her tongue around the foreign words she had struggled to perfect on her journey.

"I'm sorry, m'lady." The voice was muffled through the door and she momentarily cursed the Valdemaran shyness. "There's an 'Erald 'ere to see you m'lady."

The Cavalcade woman sighed as she rose, thinking to herself that two hours of soaking was nowhere near enough to wash off the grit of the road. "I'm getting out now." She said. "If your herald can wait a few minutes I'll be ready to see him."

"Yes, m'lady." The timid maid acknowledged. Beatrice listened as she left, presumably to speak to the Herald. She shook her head. That was something else Ryse had been unable to properly explain; what exactly were the Heralds? His explanation, 'people who do what needs doing', didn't tell her anything. It was no wonder the man was a diplomat.

As she firmly tied the sash of her bathing robe, she glanced at herself in the mirror. Gone were the pigtails her 'Uncles' had been so fond of, traded for a tangled mass of frothy golden waves which were currently dark and straight as a board. Her large blue eyes were kind, but tired from her travels, and her skin was a rosy pink from the warm water.

Tearing her gaze away from the mirror, she began to move quickly, dressing properly for her visitor.

§

Herald Nikolas smiled as the young maid scurried from the room. Rebecca wasn't normally so shy, but yet another possible foreign spy had her nervous. He hadn't been waiting for more than a moment before their latest ambassador entered the room. She was petite with long blonde hair and wide blue eyes, and though he couldn't put his finger on the reason, something about her was infinitely sad. "Lady Beatrice, I presume?" He smiled. She nodded. "I'm Herald Nikolas. I was hoping for a word with you before you're presented to the king."

"It seems I am at your disposal, Herald Nikolas." She said carefully, with a slight bob of a curtsy.

"You needn't curtsy." He smiled. "We tend to be rather relaxed outside of court."

"Good." She nodded. "Some of Cavalcade's neighbors can be a bit stuffy. I much prefer a place where a body is permitted to breathe."

The King's Own laughed. "You'll find breathing is encouraged in Valdemar."

Beatrice smiled. "I must confess, I find that comforting. Now tell me Herald, what can I do for you?"

Nikolas sighed. "I was hoping you could tell me about the people you told Lady Mirius about. She could only tell us vague stories. Quite frankly, they aren't enough to confirm or deny the identity of our imposters."

"For example?" She asked, taking a seat in a large overstuffed chair.

"Mirius told us that they were more than human, and that sounded like our problem; faster, stronger, and possessing strange magic." The tall herald gave her a lopsided smile. "As I said, it's not exactly enough to confirm or deny, but at this point we're willing to do almost anything to catch these people."

The blonde was quiet for a moment, watching the herald speculatively. "That does describe the people I told Lady Mirius about, but it also describes several others as well. While humans do hold the majority on this world, we are hardly the only people here. I'm assuming your imposters can easily pass for human?" At his curt nod she grimaced.

"I highly doubt it was dragons, you could hardly fail to recognize them."

"I thought dragons were a myth." He frowned.

"Hardly." She smiled. "However, they tend to keep to their nests on the other side of the world. The Bone Tribes are rather distinctive as well, and while they aren't exactly against assassinations, they are very friendly and are fiercely loyal to the Mazoku who protect them, and the Mazoku are very much against such acts.

"Could it be these Mazoku?" Nikolas pressed. "I know you told Herald Ryse that it wasn't them, but are you certain? Is there anything that would make them do this?"

Beatrice shook her head. "The Mazoku are just like everyone else, but they are ruled by a pacifist whom they adore. The only thing that would send them to war at this point would be a prolonged threat to their Maoh or his heir."

She frowned when he tensed slightly. "What would they consider a prolonged threat?"

"Why, are you planning to threaten them?"

"No, I want to make sure we couldn't have accidentally have upset them without knowing it."

She shook her head. "You would know it. The Maoh is a bit of a busy body, so they're used to him being arrested and held in various countries for various hair-brained schemes. They don't generally take offense to minor insults. It's only when you threaten to torture without ever releasing him that they get riled up, and then he's more than powerful enough to escape on his own."

"So there's no way we could have set them off by accident?"

"No, and even if you had, they wouldn't bother with assassination. They're a bit more direct with threats." She smiled.

"Are there any others that you can think of?"

"Only one other race, but it can't be them."

"Why not?"

"Because they're dead." She shrugged. "They threatened the Mazoku, and the Maoh destroyed every last one of them. The Originators are extinct."

Nikolas blanched at her words. "The Mazoku killed them? But I thought you said they were pacifists?"

"They are." Beatrice nodded. "But they aren't pushovers. If you attack them they will meet force with force. The Maoh avoids war to the point of foolishness, but when push comes to shove he won't let anything hurt his people."

"Are you certain these Originators are dead? I mean, if a few escaped and are trying to frame your Mazoku to start a war with us…" He suggested.

The blonde woman stilled, regarding the Valdemaran with a look of barely contained horror. "It would be a disaster. Humans have no defense against the Originators. Even the strongest of the Mazoku have a hard time fighting them. We would be completely at their mercy."

"But you said their race was decimated. Surely a small handful couldn't-"

"It wouldn't matter if only two escaped." She cut him off. "The Originators have no bodies of their own. They burrow into a person's soul and fester, growing and multiplying, spreading like a plague at the slightest touch. Imprisoned they grew and multiplied so that even the Maoh nearly couldn't destroy them. It took them millennium, but they did it. Free and unfettered for the past thirty years they could become the plague the Mazoku named them." She took a deep calming breath. "Tell me everything about these foreign imposters."

§

Kiril sat back, a look of startled dismay on his handsome face. The morning and afternoon courts had been canceled in favor of an emergency council session as soon as Nikolas and Rolan had learned of Lady Beatrice's fears. Even Mags was keeping an 'ear' on the session and adding his thoughts through Nikolas.

"You say we're fighting ghosts?" Bard Lita frowned.

"Not ghosts." Beatrice said firmly. "The Originators put ghosts to shame. They don't have bodies any more. The first Maoh destroyed their bodies hoping to kill them, but they survived it by possessing the souls of anyone nearby. For humans it is fatal. You live as a puppet trapped in your own soul watching as the Originators commit atrocities with your hands. In a few months to a year, your body can no longer take the strain of an extra soul and it starts to atrophy and break, shutting down organs while you're still alive. For the Mazoku, they can survive almost forever hidden in their psyche. The only saving grace is that they must be invited into a human soul. Sadly they find no shortage of volunteers. Though, in a pinch they can ride a corpse."

"How do you fight them?" Sedric frowned.

"I don't know." The foreign woman confessed. "I was ten when the last war was fought and they were supposed to have been destroyed. The only people who have ever successfully fought the Originators are the Mazoku." She answered him grimly. "Even our best sorcerers and esoteric masters are defenseless against their magic."

Nikolas suddenly got a look that Beatrice was quickly beginning to associate with a herald who was 'listening' to someone not present. "Does the name 'Meric' mean anything to you?" He asked after a moment. "We know that they are looking for someone named Meric."

"Not to me." She frowned. "But perhaps to the Mazoku. I know there at least two Mazoku who remember the first war when the Originators were defeated. They would know."

"I don't know how much good that will do us." Dean Caelin said kindly. "They're on the other side of the world, and it would take them far too long to get here even if we did send for them and they could come."

Beatrice smiled. "Not quite." She said. "If you want, I can send them a message right here, right now, and it would take perhaps three or four hours to receive a reply."

"You can communicate that quickly?" Sorren asked astonished. "Over such great distances?"

"Faster if his Majesty is visiting the Shrine of the Great One." She nodded.

"How?" The guild master asked, genuinely curious.

"A letter is easiest." She answered. "If you would like to write a letter to the Maoh explaining your situation and asking your questions, I'll send it with one of my own explaining what I understand the situation to be." She offered.

Kiril signaled a page to bring ink and parchment. "What else do you need?" He asked.

"A bottle with cork and wax to seal it, and a basin of water big enough to fit the bottle."

"I thought a bottled message was supposed to be thrown into open water, like a lake or river." Lita said wryly.

"That would work too." Beatrice answered evenly. "But this way it will return to this room and we won't have to wander about looking for the reply."

Kiril and Beatrice quickly scrawled out their respective notes and soon Beatrice was sealing them into the bottle with the cork and wax. "Will they be able to translate the notes?" Sorren asked curiously.

"Not in Shin Makoku." Beatrice frowned. "There are some Seejayan ambassadors in Cavalcade that they will need to get in touch with to translate the note written in Valdemaran, but my note was written in the language of the Maoh's homeland." She smiled, somewhat proudly. "Only a handful of people in this world speak Japanese, and they are all in the Mazoku royal family."

"Then how did you come to learn it?" Dean Caelin asked as a large shallow basin of water was brought in and set before the blonde.

The Lady Beatrice paused, a sad look in her eyes. "I was childhood friends with his daughter, and the Maoh taught us both." She said softly. "I spent a great deal of my youth visiting Blood Pledge Castle." Then she pulled a small charm bracelet from under her sleeve and unclasped it. Letting the charm dangle in the water she swirled it around in a circle a few times until the water seemed to glow faintly. "Lady Ulrikё, its Beatrice. I've a very urgent message for either his Majesty or his Eminence, whichever one you can reach first."

The council watched as the light pulsed once, then the water in the basin began to spin creating a vortex. Quickly she dropped the sealed bottle into the turbulent water. The Valdemarans watched in shock as it was sucked to the center of vortex and then pulled down as if through a drain. Within seconds it was gone. When the water stilled a moment later, the blonde lifted her bracelet out of the water, wiped it on her skirt and returned it to her wrist. "Now we wait." She said calmly.

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><p><strong>AN<strong>: Well, there it is. I hope you all liked it. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon, but I make no guarantee! Wish me luck on not loosing the notebook again! ;P


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